In the News

Today, Representatives Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA) and David Price (D-NC) sent a letter to President Trump expressing concern that the Administration’s recent actions could harm the prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. In their letter, Connolly and Price reiterated longstanding, bipartisan support for a two-state solution to the conflict and urged the Administration to facilitate meaningful engagement between both parties.

“We are deeply concerned that your Administration’s recent actions not only exacerbate tensions in the region, but undermine the United States’ critical and historic role as an honest broker,” wrote Connolly and Price. “The United States must encourage the Israelis and Palestinians toward meaningful engagement, and we urge the Administration to facilitate such engagement. Efforts to impose a peace plan without active participation by both parties could harm the prospects for peace for yet another generation.”

In March 2017, Connolly and Price sent a bipartisan letter signed by 191 members of Congress urging the President to clearly reaffirm the United States’ longstanding, bipartisan commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict. In that letter, the members wrote “leadership from the United States is crucial at this juncture. We must ensure that a comprehensive agreement between the two parties is not imposed and oppose unilateral actions by either of the two parties that would push the prospects for peace further out of reach.”

The full letter follows.


August 6, 2018

Dear Mr. President,

In anticipation of your Administration’s expected Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, we write to reiterate longstanding bipartisan support for a two-state solution and urge the Administration to promote meaningful engagement between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

As we wrote in our March 2017 letter signed by 191 members of Congress, “leadership from the United States is crucial at this juncture. We must ensure that a comprehensive agreement between the two parties is not imposed and oppose unilateral actions by either of the two parties that would push the prospects for peace further out of reach.” Members of Congress, on a bipartisan basis, havecontinuously expressed that any durable, peaceful resolution to the conflict will only come through direct, bilateral negotiations between the two parties and that the imposition of a one-sided solution to final status issues will undermine the strength and viability of any peace plan.

We are deeply concerned that your Administration’s recent actions not only exacerbate tensions in the region, but undermine the United States’ critical and historic role as an honest broker. The United States must encourage the Israelis and Palestinians toward meaningful engagement, and we urge the Administration to facilitate such engagement. Efforts to impose a peace plan without active participation by both parties could harm the prospects for peace for yet another generation.

Sincerely,